New gambling deals raise questions, concerns

Pauma runs a midsize casino with about 850 machines. The larger
project will incorporate some 2,000 machines, said Pauma Chairman
Chris Devers.

Deal or no deal, Indian gambling will continue to grow each year
in California, said gaming analyst Alan Meister, a manager with
Analysis Group Inc. in Los Angeles. The group produces an annual
report on the growth of Indian gambling in the state.

Meister estimated that California's Indian gambling industry
grew from $2.9 billion in 2001 to $3.7 billion in 2002. Most of the
growth was credited to casino expansions, such as those in North
County's casino resorts at Pala and Rincon.

A new report on the tribal casino industry's growth is due out
later this week.

Environmental, consumer protections
increase

The Schwarzenegger deal was about more than just money,
officials said.

The governor wanted to clarify and strengthen the state's
position on key issues that were left vague under the 1999
compacts, such as labor protections, customer dispute resolution
and environmental regulations.

In building their casinos, tribes generally followed federal
environmental rules and balked at critics that wanted them to
follow the state's tougher California Environmental Quality Act
rules. But under the new compacts, the five tribes agreed to adopt
rules mirroring the state's environmental law.

Tribes must also agree to meet California building codes and
public safety codes and must allow state building inspectors to
assess new construction projects.

Under the new rules, tribes are also obligated to negotiate with
county governments to resolve any problems that casinos may cause
outside the reservation and pay to help alleviate those
problems.

Many casino patrons are unaware that when they enter an Indian
reservation, they are no longer protected by the state's consumer
laws. And some have complained that their disputes with casinos
have not been resolved to their satisfaction.

The five tribes agreed to create a process that allows their
customers to appeal their disputes through binding arbitration.
Their cases will likely be decided by retired judges, according to
the compacts.

Tribes without existing arrangements with organized labor must
also agree to modify their tribal labor laws to provide workers
with more rights to unionize.

While some tribes say they are concerned about their sovereignty
being eroded, others worry that their casinos will be hurt
financially by compacts that allow some tribes to increase the
number of slots but not others.

Concerns and counteroffers

The Rincon Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, which owns a casino
and resort at its reservation in Valley Center, filed a lawsuit in
federal court last month to stop the new compacts. Tribe officials
said it will be put at a competitive disadvantage with its
neighbors.

Still others are offering alternate proposals.

Rincon Chairman John Currier said he is worried that the deal
could hurt his tribe if its neighbors at Pauma and Pala, which
signed the new deal, are allowed to operate as many machines as
they wish. Rincon also faces competition from Pechanga, which owns
one of the largest casinos in the state at its reservation near
Temecula.